Scripture: 1 Peter 2:25 & 1 Peter 5:1-4

I. Jesus and you compassionately gather the strays.

A. In 1 Peter 2:24 we read the Good News of the Gospel. Jesus died on the cross for our sins. Then in verse 25 we read about the title Peter had for Jesus: the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. Jesus leads you like a shepherd. And in 1 Peter 5:2 we see these same words used of the elders in the church. Elders are shepherds like Jesus is a shepherd. Jesus is the seeking shepherd. He is the Lord who compassionately gathers the sheep who stray from the flock (1 Peter 2:25).

B. Isaiah 53:6 teaches that we are all sheep who stray: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” When Jesus gathers you into His sheep pen, He will be a good Shepherd who will watch over you to protect you and preserve you. Peter himself was once a lost sheep who had failed Jesus. But Jesus forgave Peter in John 21 and told him, “Feed my sheep.”

II. Jesus and you lead from suffering to glory.

A. The suffering of Jesus is seen not only in 1 Peter 2:24 when Peter writes about how Jesus bore our sins in his body on the tree. We also see the suffering of Jesus in 1 Peter 5:1. Peter was a witness of the sufferings of Christ. Peter was also a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed. He had seen Jesus’ glory once at the Transfiguration. And Peter would see that glory again. He would see the glorious Jesus in heaven.

B. Suffering is not the end of your story. Glory is. Jesus the good Shepherd will lead you through suffering to a place of glory if you follow Him (1 Peter 5:4). Your suffering then is not a sign that God is against you or has forsaken you as a Christian. On the contrary, your suffering as a Christian is evidence that God has chosen you to be His child. God’s chosen Messiah is Jesus, and Jesus suffered. So, if you are a child of God, you will suffer on your way to glory.

III. Jesus and you lead for the good of others.

A. In the job description Peter gives for the shepherds of the church in 1 Peter 5:2-3, he says 3 times that the job of a shepherd is not this but that. A shepherd leads not to serve himself or herself. A shepherd leads for the sake of the sheep. Shepherds are eager to give, not get. There is one character trait above all others that makes for a good shepherd: humility. A humble shepherd recognizes that they are given this responsibility not because they are so great but simply because God has chosen them – of all people – to serve.

Application:
Follow Jesus as shepherds – whether you are a leader in the church or a leader as a mom.

Sources:
The Bible
Commentaries by G.K. Beale, I.H. Marshall, Karen Jobes and Ed Clowney.

Sermon Discussion Questions

1) Why are leaders in the church called shepherds? What is the similarity in the work of shepherds with the work of church leaders?

2) What should followers of Jesus expect in this life? But what is the ultimate destination of all who follow Jesus?

3) What is the motivation supposed to be for church leaders? Why is humility an essential characteristic for a Christian leader?